Stark County commissioners advanced a new countywide pay-matrix approach for setting wages but left several implementation particulars unresolved after a lengthy discussion about survey data, step scales and fairness for long-tenured employees.
Human Resources Director Joetta Piercy presented the matrix options the county used to align pay with external market data. The matrix assigns a median wage and an even spread to establish minimums and maximums; Piercy said she set the spread at 175% (up from an earlier 150% proposal) to create more flexibility at both ends of each salary range. "When I originally was doing these before it was formalized, I was using a 150%, and I didn't think the spread was enough," Piercy said.
Commissioners and department heads raised multiple technical questions: whether the matrix should use median or average survey measures, which peer counties to include (some departments recommended only counties with taxable value over $30 million), and how to treat positions with few comparators (for example, county HR directors in the state). Auditor and other elected offices asked for medians rather than averages for some titles to keep local budgets stable.
The board approved the Human Resources budget and accepted the merit/step framework for rollout; commissioners approved department budget items that incorporated matrix outcomes during the meeting. However, the conversation noted practical follow-ups: where employees fall between steps this year, whether step scales should be reviewed only every two to three years to avoid repeated midstep adjustments, and whether higher-paid incumbents should receive smaller merit increases while lower-paid or out-of-scale incumbents receive larger adjustments.
Why it matters: The matrix will shape year-to-year compensation and could affect recruitment, retention, and budget pressure across departments. Several commissioners said they want flexibility to make adjustments after the first-year rollout rather than overturn the policy now.
Next steps and caveats: Human Resources will refine category definitions (which titles use which comparators), re-run department-specific scenarios requested by commissioners (including the auditor’s preference to use medians for some titles), and propose a timeline for review of step scales. The board and department heads agreed to revisit particular anomalies before the final October budget adoption.